Apple Bloom -- Missing the Tree for the Apples
Written by: bookplayer
Rated Everyone
A songbird outside the window of the clubhouse sang a happy tune as Apple Bloom gave one of the wallboards a swift kick, unlocking the hidden compartment. It sprang open, revealing a space not much bigger than a saddle bag. Even Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo didn't know she'd installed it when she fixed up the clubhouse. It was Apple Bloom’s secret, and it was big enough for the notebook that she never told anypony about.
Apple Bloom didn't keep a diary or a journal; she didn't like writing and didn't see much point in telling herself what she did every day. She was pretty sure she remembered and if she didn't, it probably wasn't important. Her notebook was for the things she hated forgetting, because then she had to do a bunch of work all over again.
She pulled out the notebook and laid it on the table. She flipped past the pages she had made for places in town, usually just a note or two in her scratchy writing, and past the half a dozen pages with notes on the schoolhouse. There were a lot of pages about the clubhouse, with drawings and some numbers, but that's not what she was after today. Most of the back of the book was taken up by Sweet Apple Acres and about half of that was what she needed to add to: Project Unicorn.
She took a pencil in her mouth and hovered it over the page with notes and figures for the pulley system. She'd figured out pulleys when she was fixing up the clubhouse; it wasn't easy for an earth pony filly to get tools, wood, and paint up the steep ramp by herself. She'd learned a lot of other things too: about floor and roof supports, the strength of different kinds of wood, and the importance of using the right screws or nails for the job.
Afterward, she couldn't stop looking at things like that everywhere. She noticed that the joists at Sugarcube Corner were six inches closer together than they needed to be and that the front door was hung wrong and was gonna start creaking soon. The floors at the schoolhouse were made of the cheapest wood somepony could use for a floor and they'd need to be replaced a lot sooner than if somepony had used the wood she got for the clubhouse, which wasn't that much more expensive.
All of this got written in the notebook, but that wasn't the secret. Project Unicorn was the secret. She still didn't know if it was an embarrassing fantasy or a super good surprise, but she knew one thing: Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Granny Smith couldn't know about it yet. It had to be perfect first.
Since she'd seen Twilight Sparkle harvesting apples with her magic, Apple Bloom had been working on the project. The whole back half of her notebook was full of ideas for it, starting with a pulley system across the orchard, down the end of each row. Bushels could be hung from the rope as they were filled and the pulley would bring them to the farm yard, cutting out most of the carrying and hauling that Big Mac and Applejack had to do.
At the end of the rope would be the new carts she had figured out, with removable boxes. The bushels would dump into the box, then her siblings could haul it to the barn. In the barn the box could be taken off the cart and topped with a lid, and they could store apples that way instead of in barrels. That would save space in the barn, too.
The inside of the barn would have another pulley system for taking the boxes from the back of the cart, with a movable arm for stacking them. Apple Bloom had built a scale version of the arm using tree branches, and had a page of notes on how to make it work.
As a final touch, she had redesigned the sales cart so the storage boxes could be set right on it on display. The pulley could be used to put the apples on the cart and it'd be ready to haul into town. She'd drawn up a new paint job for the cart to go with it and she found that the right type of paint would keep it looking shiny and new for a good long time.
What she had here wasn't perfect. She was always learning new things that made her think about her ideas. A lot of those were things her sister would call “fancy mathematics,” with her face twisted up. But Apple Bloom hoped that by the time they came down to moving apples Applejack wouldn't notice the pages of numbers in the notebook.
She knew her family didn't much like change, but maybe someday she'd convince them that this wasn't really like that. It was still powered by ponies all the way--Apple Bloom would never have dreamed of saying they should use magic. For one thing they didn't have any unicorns in the family and for another Apple Bloom didn't understand it enough to work into her plans. This wasn't that different from the old cider press, really. And it wasn't like she was saying they should stop the bucking. She did have some ideas for how they could do that, but putting those in the notebook felt like a crime against the family.
So she carefully wrote down what she'd figured out about rope strength over the past few weeks of adventures with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders and redid a few calculations about the pulley system. Then she set down the pencil with a smile and flipped to the page where she had drawn the farm with the whole system in place.
She imagined the sunny day when it would be built; her brother and sister could buck the trees and have the apples in the barn with plenty of time left over to play with her. It would be so much fun to see it all work, to know that all these notes and numbers added up to something she could do for her family. That day she'd be a real Apple, helping to make Sweet Apple Acres run smooth and giving back to the ponies she loved.
The song bird stopped singing as she heard the wheels of the scooter approach on the dirt road.
“Apple Bloom! Aaaapple Bloooom!” she heard Scootaloo's voice outside and grinned as she closed her notebook and put it away in the compartment, knocking the wallboard back in place with her hoof. She had places to go and things to do. As much fun as her notebook was, she had a cutie mark to earn and she wasn't getting it sitting around and dreaming.
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Maybe that could be Apple Bloom's cutie mark... something related to construction & design.
1385798
That would appear to be the point. The problem is that her own youth and her sister's fear of the new are fairly largish obstacles to that end.
I really wish there were more stories exploring this side of Apple Bloom's character. Well done.
Beautiful.
Oh Applebloom, how can you be such a smart cookie, and such a puddinghead at the same time?
At first I didn't quite like Apple Bloom's idea of modernizing Sweet Apple Achres, but towards the end I find my self being quite charmed by her plans. Cool ideas here.
Love the characerization of Apple Bloom here - Smart little cookie. We need more Apple Bloom. Well done.
1385956
I'm pretty sure Guardian was being sarcastic.
Every time I read one of your stories about Apple Bloom, you're always able to focus on a different aspect of her character that's not often talked about and yet is completely in synch with what we're given from the show. And then you breathe life into it by adding detail and perspective. In this instance we get to read about her industrious side as well as her inner hopes and uncertainties about using her talents in a way that will be meaningful for and appreciated by her family. It's very touching and that last line is a perfect cap to a wonderful snapshot.
1424167 She's still a filly - there's time, and there's no big hurry.
Besides, gotta get those cutie marks. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Applebloom_lolface.png
Great snapshot. Seeing one filly's hopes and aspirations from her POV, and getting a little more understanding of what she sees for the future made my day.
Outside the main six, AB has to be my favorite pony. The notebook is now my new headcannon for her. Thanks for that.
I could see Apple Bloom doing that, but for me I don't really see her special talent being building or decorating like everyone else thinks. To me they haven't really given us any real clues to as what her talent will be, unless it's alchemy, maybe she'd be the first Apple family earth pony to do some kind of magic.
~LATEP
I'm obviously stumbling into this story pretty late.
I wonder if she still has that notebook now that she actually has her cutie mark.